Life Through Jesus - Lent 2020
I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.
John 5:24
The frantic call came, “He’s dead! He took his life!” An overwhelming sense of loss, despair, fear, and tremendous sadness took over my home village and my heart. Death had come again. Sadly, this has become all too common in our villages in the north.
The life-giving message of Jesus Christ we carry as believers is crucial today more than ever. We carry the message that Jesus is the source of life, the giver of life, sustainer of life, and the redeemer of life. This message of “hope for life” is desperately needed for those who literally want to die.
Jesus came to redeem all of humanity to Himself. His death on the Cross and His Resurrection Easter morning made redemption possible for everyone. Because we have hope in Jesus, we can look to Him to sustain us when life gets too hard.
The Monday morning after my community buried this young man, my husband, Rick, was asked to pray with the man’s construction crew. It was their first day back to work after the sudden loss of their co-worker. Rick read Psalm 91 to them, emphasizing the idea that God is our sure shelter from the fear of terror in the night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that stalks in the darkness (paraphrasing)… if you make the Most High your dwelling. He pointed them to God as their sustainer in their suffering and ended his reading with a prayer asking God to be with each individual as they began their grief process in the loss of their brother and friend.
During this Lent season, may the message of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of all mankind be strong and clear in our spirits. May God’s plan of redemption be even more clear to each one of us during this season.
Dear God, thank you for responding to the suffering in this world through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Help us to survive in a world that is often chaotic, painful, and hurtful and to know and experience the healing, comfort, and victory you extend to us through Jesus Christ. Amen.